ORFORDVILLE — It didn’t take long for Darlington to prove its superiority to Parkview-Albany. In Week 4 on Sept. 10, the dominant Redbirds (3-1, 2-0 SWAL) decimated the Vikings, scoring on the third play of the game and never looking back, 66-0.
“I told the kids before the game that if there is one thing about high school football, you don’t get many games,” Darlington coach Travis Winkers said. “You don’t get 22, 24-games like you do in basketball. And with COVID, you never know when contact tracing might shut you down. Even though Parkview is an inferior team on paper, we have to come out and enjoy it.”
Brady Horne dashed 45 yards straight up the middle on the third snap of the game to put Darlington ahead just 67 seconds into the game. A defensive 3-and-out by the Redbirds was foiled by a penalty on the punt, only for the ‘Birds to force another punt four snaps later.
Darlington’s second drive last five plays and 53 yards, with junior Cadyn Burbach capping the drive with a 10-yard QB keeper. Burbach, the backup quarterback, was giving the start with Braden Davis resting an injury. Burbach finished the night 1-for-4 passing for 22 yards and an interception, but made his presence felt with his feet, rushing for 138 yards and three scores on 12 runs.
“He is a very good option quarterback. The one we’ve got (starter Braden Davis) is very good, too, but we needed to rest him because he has kind of a banged-up shoulder. Cadyn stepped up and did everything we asked of him tonight,” Winkers said.
Darlington’s third drive lasted just one play, with Burbach taking another option keeper 32 yards to the house. A third 2-point conversion made it 24-0 in favor of the visiting Redbirds.
A blocked punt on the ensuing Parkview-Albany (0-4, 0-2) drive put the Redbirds at the 32-yard line again. After a pair of Burbach runs put Darlington at the 5, Horne scored his second of the game on a run up the middle, and a converted 2-point try made it 32-0 Darlington.
“We talked with the team, and we have the same attitude every week — we are going into it trying to get better at everything we do and we are trying to stay together as a team, and we are going to compete,” said Joe Flister, Parkview-Albany coach. “That’s our goal — to get better.”
The Redbirds would score three more times in the first half — a 13-yard interception return for a score by Roger Volkening, a 40-yard evasive run by Breylin Goebel, and a 6-yard toss to the outside by Tye Crist, putting Darlington ahead 52-0 at halftime and putting the running clock in motion at the start of the third quarter.
The Redbirds had 307 yards of offense in the first half, while Parkview-Albany gained just eight. Arguably the most interesting sequence came midway through the second quarter. After Darlington went up 32-0 on Horne’s second score, Parkview lost possession just two plays later on a fumble. On the very next play, Burbach chucked a pass to the end zone from outside of the 20, only for Parkview-Albany’s Mathias Treinen to jump in front of the receiver and intercept the pass. The Vikings took over possession at their own 1, and after a run went nowhere, quarterback Zander Brown’s pass up the right hash was grabbed by Volkening for his score.
Horne had 68 yards on just four carries, while Goebel finished with 61 yards on three carries. The Redbirds finished with 408 yards of offense in the contest, while the Vikings mustered up a total of 30.
Brown finished 7-for-21 for 43 yards and two INTs. Sam Schwengels was the Vikings’ leading rusher with 22 yards on three carries.
“Darlington has a great football team, and kudos to them. They have a great coach, they have a great staff and great kids,” Flister said. “Darlington is great; Lancaster is great; there are a lot of teams in this league that are great. But we’re going to continue to work hard, and that’s the bottom line. That’s why I love this group of kids — they don’t ever quit. We’re going to work hard.”
In his first year at the helm of the Vikings program, Flister is trying to change the culture. This is only the third season of the Parkview-Albany co-op, and dating back to 2013, Parkview has a record of just 9-59 overall. In fact, the Vikings haven’t made the playoffs in 20 years.
“We’re trying to change the culture here. The overall approach — the way we practice, the way we do our pregame and everything that leads up to the contest. The kids are buying into that. There are absolutely challenges on the football field, but there are a lot of things that we’re trying to change, and the kids are buying into that,” Flister said.
Darlington hosts Benton-Scales Mount-Shullsburg (0-4, 0-2 Six Rivers) in a crossover game in Week 5. The Knights have struggled this year and have been outscored 139-52, losing by an average score of about 35-13.
Meanwhile, the Redbirds have outscored opponents 167-48 on the season, and have gained nearly 1,000 yards on the ground. The stout Darlington defense has also only allowed two rushing touchdowns this season, while the Redbirds have scored 19 times on the ground.
“I think we are getting better and more confident. At the beginning of the year we tried to schedule St. Mary’s Springs and it was a tough game and we lost, but the confidence we’ve gained each week has increased,” Winkers said. “I think what we did last week (5-score win over Mineral Point) really showed them that, ‘hey, we can be really good.’ I think it’s (having) that confidence. We’re playing at a high level.”
Easton Evenstad leads the Darlington rushing attack despite missing half of the games due to injury. There are five Darlington players with more than 100 yards on the season.
“Easton is a little banged up, too. Football is a violent sport, and sometimes you get a couple nicks and bruises,” Winkers said.
Knights quarterback has averaged 115 yards through the air each game, and has three touchdowns to two TDs. BSMS uses primarily three running backs, though combined the three average less than 60 yards rushing per contest.
In Week 4, BSMS led Potosi-Cassville (4-0, 2-0) at halftime, 20-15, only to allow four Chieftain touchdowns in the third quarter to fall behind by 22.
The Vikings travel to Fennimore (1-3, 0-2) in Week 5. The Eagles have dropped three straight since a 47-0 win over Iowa-Grant in Week 1. QB Max Kenney has 501 yards passing, but just four TDs to six INTs on 69 attempts. Maximos Miles is the Eagles’ top rusher with 377 yards on 63 totes, averaging just shy of 100 yards per game. Austin Horne is the team’s leading receiver with 16 catches for 282 yards and three TDs.
